Per GoBearcats:
Cincinnati’s 12:20 a.m. flight arrival to the Sunshine State, marred by mechanical and de-icing trouble on the runway, was no match for the resilient Bearcats in a 76-74 thriller at UCF.
It was Cincinnati’s fourth-straight win against its former AAC and current Big 12 rival.
Cincinnati canceled its morning shootaround in exchange for more sleep, and it opened a 17-6 lead, with Dan Skillings Jr. posting 10 points and three rebounds over those first six minutes.
Simas Lukosius’ tipped lay-up with 13 seconds left brought it back to a 76-73 game, and an errant three-point attempt designed to draw game-tying foul shots sailed over the backboard and returned the ball to UC with 5.7 seconds left. UC fouled with the three-point lead, and UCF’s intentional miss on the second foul shot with two seconds left was not rebounded in time.
Freshman and Orlando native Jizzle James calmly sank a mid-range jumper at 5:32 after the Knights pulled within two, the closest margin since late in the first half. Skillings pulled down a rebound on the other end, then converted a three-point play to lead 66-59.
Bandaogo and Lukosius each went 2-for-2 at the line to keep the Knights away, but Day Day Thomas was called for his fifth foul on a made layup at 1:54, and UCF converted to tie it at 71. James drove to the left baseline and followed with the go-ahead layup, and yet UCF tied it back with 1:19 to go.
Cincinnati’s 37-30 halftime lead was its largest in a Big 12 game this year, helped by a John Newman III trey and fastbreak Skillings layup 18 seconds later.
Lukosius’ trey that followed his assist to a dunking Bandaogo gave Cincinnati a 49-35 lead at 17:33 and forced a Knights timeout. It marked the largest Bearcat lead in a league game this year.
Josh Reed knocked down a top-of-the-key 3-pointer during an otherwise cold spell for the Bearcats, who still made it into the media timeout up 56-44 at 11:28 by holding UCF scoreless for three minutes.
Eight-straight UCF points tied it up for the first time since the opening minutes, and Jamille Reynolds’ basket down low from Thomas regained the 30-28 lead at 3:24.
FROM WES MILLER
“This has been a really resilient team, and we were tonight. We played well offensively to start the game, and we have not been recently. It lifted us to see balls going in and to feel in control of the game. It got dicey down the stretch, and that can be difficult with some young players. But I was proud that we found a way.
“Our games and so many in this league have such a fine line. Standing up here after a win and talking to you guys, it feels great. We’re humans, it feels good. After a loss, it feels absolutely awful. A lot of these are coming down to one possession. I think the biggest difference is if your team is willing to win just one more possession. We have not been on the right end of that every game. The teams that win consistently are not blowing everyone out; they’re doing the little things better. We’re trying to be one of those.”
NOTABLE
-Cincinnati entered the day 10th nationally (first in Big 12) with a 9.2 rebounding margin. It won this battle 45-33, including 18 offensive rebounds.
-Simas Lukosius also had the game-deciding jumper in the Bearcats’ last road game, a 75-72 win at No. 15 Texas Tech.
-Jamille Reynolds began his career at UCF (2020-22) and scored 16 in the arena while playing for Temple last year. He finished with six points and nine rebounds in 14 minutes.
UP NEXT
Cincinnati returns home Wednesday to host Oklahoma State (7 p.m.).
